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Janet Rassweiler

Interim Program Director, Museum Leadership

Academic Interests

Adults and learning communities Collaboration and collective impact Educational leadership within cultural organizations Ethics Evaluative thinking Public value

Some of the Values that Shape My Work

As an observer and as a passionate participant, I have witnessed first-hand the unique contributions that cultural organizations can make to the strength and well-being of their communities.  I seek to find new and productive ways to expand this potential through my own work, my work with students, and my collaborations with colleagues at Bank Street and throughout the field.

I see this best being done as part of a community of learners who work together. I think I am a better educator if I promote and hear different perspectives, cross disciplines, try on different roles—and am myself a beginning learner in something too. And, as we teach and learn together, I believe that each and every one of us has a responsibility to foster, sustain, and further leadership growth. “Leadership” is not limited to a role in a hierarchy; instead, it is best expressed in the very behaviors we model.

Work with Families, Children, Schools, and Communities

Program Director, Young Audiences New York; Director of Programs and Collections, The New Jersey Historical Society; Director of Education, South Street Seaport Museum, Museum of Broadcasting (Paley Center for Media), and Cooper-Hewitt Museum; Adjunct faculty at Jersey City, Rutgers, Seton Hall, and William Paterson Universities

Recent Professional Contributions

Acting Director, Leadership in Museum Education

Course instructor, Bank Street: Exhibition Development and Evaluation (Museum Education); Collaborations for Museum Leadership (Leadership in Museum Education)

Fieldwork advisement to current students; directed essay mentor to Museum Education students

Guest lecturer, New York University Visual Arts Administration and Seton Hall University Museum Education programs

Board Development Committee, Visitor Studies Association

Consulting as interpretive planner, exhibition developer, strategic planner or collaborations assessment ArtsWestchester; Creative Forces, Inc., New Orleans; Gotham Center for New York City History; Minnetrista Cultural Center, Indiana; New York State Council on the Arts; Old Stone House, Brooklyn; Together in Dance; Urban Memory Project, Inc.; and Yeshiva University Museum

Educational Background

  • Management/Supervision Certificate, Support Center for Nonprofit Management
  • Getty Leadership Institute, Getty Foundation
  • M.S.Ed., Museum Education & Special Education, Bank Street College of Education
  • B.A., Art History, Smith College

Selected Publications and Presentations

  • Johnson, J. I., & Rassweiler, J. L. (2010). Connecting museum, school and community: Collaborations for learning. In K. Forney & B. Sheppard (Eds.), An alliance of spirit: Museum and school partnerships (2nd ed., pp. 65-72). Washington, DC: American Association of Museums.

  • Abelson, S., Fox, L., Ocello, C., & Rassweiler, J. L. (2003). Developing an advisory board. Art beyond sight: Handbook for museums and educators. New York, NY: The Museum of Modern Art & Art Education for the Blind.

  • Bloom, M., Glass, B., & Rassweiler, J. L. (2002). Remarks: Museums respond to September 11th. Pennsylvania Legacies: The Newsmagazine of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 2(2), 34-37.

  • Jusino-Iturralde, M., Ocello, C., & Rassweiler, J. L. (2002). First steps: A scrapbook and guide for young parents, museums, and community partners. Newark, NJ: The New Jersey Historical Society.

  • Ocello, C., & Rassweiler, J. L. (Eds.). (1999). Classroom resource packet: Building a community, an integrated 2nd grade curriculum. Newark, NJ: The New Jersey Historical Society & Newark Public Schools.

  • Rassweiler, J. L. (1983). Let’s give them a chance: The special needs audience in the museum setting. Unpublished master’s thesis, Bank Street College of Education, New York, NY.

None

Contact me:

(212) 875-4704 jrassweiler@bankstreet.edu
610 W 112Th St
New York, NY 10025-1898